{"data":{"id":14954,"title":"Portfolio: Kastak Arms","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/14954-Portfolio-Kastak-Arms","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/14954","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/14954","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Portfolio","images":[{"id":4008,"name":"Kastak_devastator_12_aged_material_blend_02.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/1kbij4lwfcb2yr\/source\/Kastak_devastator_12_aged_material_blend_02.jpg","alt":"","size":737353,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2015-09-03T19:09:29+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/4008","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/4008\/similar"},{"id":4009,"name":"CS_SC_KASTAK_ARMS_LOGO_01A-V2.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/2fk0822qcjlzzr\/source\/CS_SC_KASTAK_ARMS_LOGO_01A-V2.jpg","alt":"","size":1604412,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2015-08-25T20:35:28+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/4009","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/4009\/similar"},{"id":26463,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/weozjmuuh3hwh\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":843046,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-19T15:49:32+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463\/similar"}],"images_count":8,"translations":{"en_EN":"\u201cWe don\u2019t care about being subtle. We care about being effective.\u201d So said current Kastak Arms CEO Thaddeus DeWitt at a recent shareholders meeting. The comment came in response to criticism over the company\u2019s latest marketing campaign. The ad features a young civilian family of four standing outside of a modest house. With flames licking the foreground, two kids huddle next to their parents, who each hold a Kastak weapon. The wife blows smoke from the barrel of her gun. The husband holds his weapon high, leading the eye to the tagline \u201cProtect your Empire!\u201d next to the company\u2019s ubiquitous logo \u2014 a clenched fist coming at the viewer.\n\nKastak Arms makes inexpensive energy weapons with intimidating names like Devastator and Firestorm, and aggressively markets them to distressed parts of the Empire. Even though the company portrays itself as providing weapons for personal defense, the brand has become more readily identified with people who use them for aggressive and unlawful purposes.\n\n\u201cLet there be no mistake,\u201d Thaddeus DeWitt continued in his speech to shareholders, \u201cwe make guns, like countless other manufactures in this Empire, but we get criticized because our ads are honest about owning a weapon. Having one is about more than protection. It\u2019s also about power.\u201d Kastak\u2019s stated goal is to make effective and affordable weapons for everyday Citizens and civilians. However, critics argue that the company\u2019s business model floods the streets with cheap weapons that cause more violence than they stop.\n\nState Sponsored\nShortly after Virgil fell to the Vanduul, Vega System was not only flooded with refugees, but had suddenly become part of the conflict\u2019s front line. The looming threat of attack drove both businesses and the public from the prosperous planet of Selene. Those who chose to stay, or could not afford to leave, worried about what would happen if a Vanduul attack cut them off from the rest of the Empire. So Selene\u2019s Governors Council strove to make their planet self-sufficient. With no native personal defense weapons manufacturer, they decided to create their own.\n\nTechnically, Kastak Arms was established in 2738 as a public-private partnership between Selene\u2019s Governors Council and a consortium of local business interests. Named after the first city to fall to the Vanduul in the attack on Virgil, the company\u2019s mission statement was to make powerful weapons available to Selene\u2019s public at a modest price, so if the invasion came all Citizens and civilians would be able to defend themselves. Despite the hysteria, the Vanduul attack on Selene never arrived. Instead, the planet became awash with weapons that, combined with an unstable economy, were attributed to a rising crime rate.\n\nPublic safety groups protested that the Governors Council was profiting off the violence caused by Kastak Arms. In 2753, a rogue Kastak executive was arrested after tampering with Vega\u2019s early warning system for Vanduul attacks in an effort to spur sales. Selene\u2019s Governors Council moved to dissolve the company. The Council\u2019s lone dissenting voice was Hiram Larcher, who delayed the vote, allowing Kastak\u2019s private partners the time to put together a bid to buy the Council\u2019s stake in the company. Larcher successfully lobbied the Governors Council into taking the bid, then promptly resigned from his seat to become Kastak\u2019s CEO.\n\nUniversal Ambition\nToday\u2019s Kastak Arms is the result of Hiram Larcher\u2019s vision. Once the company became a wholly private endeavor, Larcher implemented policies that he had been pushing for on the Governors Council. Sensing saturation of Selene\u2019s market, Larcher brought the brand to Bremen amidst a massive ad campaign featuring an attractive model standing over a dead Vanduul and holding a Kastak shotgun. The ad\u2019s copy read, \u201cThere\u2019s a reason the Vanduul avoid Vega,\u201d and sparked a heated debate among pundits on the Spectrum, which generated a windfall of free advertising for Kastak. Sales climbed and allowed the company to increase operations across the Empire.\n\nAs the company expanded, it quickly realized it was better for its bottom line to advertise on the streets of Hyperion instead of the salons of Terra. So, before the company entered a new system, they would make aggressive ad buys in low-income areas, letting its pervasive and provocative ads stir up consumer interest and controversy before its weapons landed on shelves. To this day, ads for Kastak Arms are a common sight in lower income neighborhoods like Newcastle and Tram. When critics charge that Kastak spurs violence in such areas, company officials point to high sales and affordable ad space as justification for its practices. As Hiram Larcher bluntly said in an interview, \u201cThese people need affordable guns. Look how much crime and violence they have to deal with. Do you know how dangerous it would be for them to go unarmed?\u201d\n\nOver the years, Kastak Arms has worked hard to cultivate an image as a corporate underdog. A common thread in its marketing is to portray itself as the much maligned gun manufacturer whose only mission is to provide cheap protection for the masses. This image is more than an advertising ploy, though. Historians credit Kastak Arms with playing a pivotal role in the overthrow of Ariane Effendi, Locke\u2019s dictatorial ruler during the early 29th century. The availability of Kastak weapons allowed opposition leader Omar Astacio to arm the planet\u2019s oppressed populace.\n\nFollowing the revolution, Astacio sent the official flag of Locke\u2019s new government to Kastak Arms as a thank you. The flag was framed and has been displayed in the lobby of the company\u2019s corporate headquarters ever since. More recently, the company came to the aid of the Asura police after they went on strike. One of their complaints was about being outgunned by criminals. After hearing this, Kastak donated weapons to the force to upgrade their capabilities. It was a smart and shrewd maneuver that has bought the company a wave of good will.\n\nWhether Kastak Arms\u2019 business practices have led to a safer society is debatable. Whether its practices have been good for the company\u2019s bottom line is beyond doubt.","de_DE":"\"Uns ist es egal, subtil zu sein. Wir legen Wert darauf, effektiv zu sein.\" Das sagte der aktuelle CEO von Kastak Arms, Thaddeus DeWitt, auf einer der letzten Hauptversammlungen. Der Kommentar kam als Reaktion auf die Kritik an der j\u00fcngsten Marketingkampagne des Unternehmens. Die Anzeige zeigt eine junge zivile Familie von vier Personen, die vor einem bescheidenen Haus steht. Mit Flammen, die den Vordergrund lecken, dr\u00e4ngen sich zwei Kinder neben ihren Eltern, die jeweils eine Kastak-Waffe halten. Die Frau bl\u00e4st Rauch aus dem Lauf ihrer Waffe. Der Mann h\u00e4lt seine Waffe hoch und f\u00fchrt das Auge auf den Slogan \"Protect your Empire\" neben dem allgegenw\u00e4rtigen Logo des Unternehmens - eine geballte Faust, die auf den Zuschauer zukommt.\n\nKastak Arms stellt preiswerte Energiewaffen mit einsch\u00fcchternden Namen wie Verw\u00fcster und Feuersturm her und vermarktet sie aggressiv in notleidenden Teilen des Reiches. Auch wenn sich das Unternehmen als Anbieter von Waffen zur pers\u00f6nlichen Verteidigung ausgibt, hat sich die Marke leichter mit Menschen identifiziert, die sie f\u00fcr aggressive und rechtswidrige Zwecke einsetzen.\n\n\"Es soll keinen Fehler geben\", fuhr Thaddeus DeWitt in seiner Rede vor den Aktion\u00e4ren fort, \"wir machen Waffen, wie unz\u00e4hlige andere Hersteller in diesem Reich, aber wir werden kritisiert, weil unsere Anzeigen ehrlich \u00fcber den Besitz einer Waffe sind. Eine solche zu haben, bedeutet mehr als nur Schutz. Es geht auch um Macht.\" Das erkl\u00e4rte Ziel von Kastak ist es, effektive und erschwingliche Waffen f\u00fcr allt\u00e4gliche B\u00fcrger und Zivilisten herzustellen. Kritiker argumentieren jedoch, dass das Gesch\u00e4ftsmodell des Unternehmens die Stra\u00dfen mit billigen Waffen \u00fcberschwemmt, die mehr Gewalt verursachen als sie stoppen.\n\nStaatlich gef\u00f6rdert\nKurz nachdem Virgil auf die Vanduul gefallen war, wurde das Vega-System nicht nur von Fl\u00fcchtlingen \u00fcberflutet, sondern war pl\u00f6tzlich Teil der Frontlinie des Konflikts geworden. Die drohende Gefahr eines Angriffs trieb sowohl Unternehmen als auch die \u00d6ffentlichkeit aus dem wohlhabenden Planeten Selene. Diejenigen, die sich entschieden, zu bleiben oder es sich nicht leisten konnten, zu gehen, machten sich Sorgen dar\u00fcber, was passieren w\u00fcrde, wenn ein Angriff der Vandule sie vom Rest des Reiches abschneiden w\u00fcrde. Also bem\u00fchte sich Selenes Gouverneursrat, ihren Planeten autark zu machen. Ohne einheimischen Hersteller von pers\u00f6nlichen Verteidigungswaffen beschlossen sie, ihre eigenen zu gr\u00fcnden.\n\nTechnisch gesehen wurde Kastak Arms 2738 als \u00f6ffentlich-private Partnerschaft zwischen dem Selene Governors Council und einem Konsortium lokaler Gesch\u00e4ftsinteressen gegr\u00fcndet. Benannt nach der ersten Stadt, die beim Angriff auf Virgil an die Vanduul fiel, war es das Ziel des Unternehmens, Selenes \u00d6ffentlichkeit m\u00e4chtige Waffen zu einem bescheidenen Preis zur Verf\u00fcgung zu stellen, so dass, wenn die Invasion kam, alle B\u00fcrger und Zivilisten in der Lage sein w\u00fcrden, sich zu verteidigen. Trotz der Hysterie kam der Vanduul-Angriff auf Selene nie an. Stattdessen wurde der Planet von Waffen \u00fcberflutet, die in Verbindung mit einer instabilen Wirtschaft auf eine steigende Kriminalit\u00e4tsrate zur\u00fcckgef\u00fchrt wurden.\n\nGruppen der \u00f6ffentlichen Sicherheit protestierten dagegen, dass der Gouverneursrat von der durch Kastak Arms verursachten Gewalt profitiert. Im Jahr 2753 wurde eine abtr\u00fcnnige Kastak-F\u00fchrungskraft verhaftet, nachdem sie das Fr\u00fchwarnsystem von Vega f\u00fcr Vanduul-Angriffe manipuliert hatte, um den Verkauf anzukurbeln. Der Governors Council von Selene hat beschlossen, das Unternehmen aufzul\u00f6sen. Die einzige Gegenstimme des Rates war Hiram Larcher, der die Abstimmung verz\u00f6gerte, so dass die privaten Partner von Kastak Zeit hatten, ein Angebot f\u00fcr den Kauf der Beteiligung des Rates an dem Unternehmen zu unterbreiten. Larcher setzte sich erfolgreich daf\u00fcr ein, dass der Gouverneursrat das Angebot annimmt, und trat dann umgehend von seinem Sitz zur\u00fcck, um Kastak-CEO zu werden.\n\nUniverselle Ambitionen\nDie heutigen Kastak-Arme sind das Ergebnis der Vision von Hiram Larcher. Als das Unternehmen zu einem rein privaten Unternehmen wurde, setzte Larcher Richtlinien um, die er im EZB-Rat durchgesetzt hatte. Larcher sp\u00fcrte die S\u00e4ttigung des Marktes von Selene und brachte die Marke inmitten einer massiven Werbekampagne mit einem attraktiven Modell, das \u00fcber einem toten Vanduul stand und eine Kastak-Schrotflinte hielt, nach Bremen. Das Werbetext lautete: \"Es gibt einen Grund, warum die Vanduul Vega meiden\", und l\u00f6ste eine hitzige Debatte unter den Experten des Spectrum aus, die f\u00fcr Kastak einen Windfall an kostenloser Werbung ausl\u00f6ste. Die Verk\u00e4ufe stiegen und erlaubten es dem Unternehmen, die Aktivit\u00e4ten im gesamten Reich zu steigern.\n\nAls das Unternehmen expandierte, erkannte es schnell, dass es f\u00fcr sein Endergebnis besser war, auf den Stra\u00dfen von Hyperion statt in den Salons von Terra zu werben. So, bevor das Unternehmen in ein neues System eintrat, w\u00fcrden sie aggressive Werbeeink\u00e4ufe in einkommensschwachen Gebieten t\u00e4tigen, indem sie ihre allgegenw\u00e4rtigen und provokativen Anzeigen das Interesse und die Kontroverse der Verbraucher wecken lie\u00dfen, bevor ihre Waffen in den Regalen landeten. Bis heute sind Anzeigen f\u00fcr Kastak Arms ein allt\u00e4glicher Anblick in einkommensschwachen Stadtteilen wie Newcastle und Tram. Wenn Kritiker behaupten, dass Kastak die Gewalt in solchen Bereichen f\u00f6rdert, verweisen die Verantwortlichen des Unternehmens auf hohe Ums\u00e4tze und erschwingliche Werbefl\u00e4chen als Rechtfertigung f\u00fcr seine Praktiken. Wie Hiram Larcher in einem Interview unverbl\u00fcmt sagte: \"Diese Menschen brauchen erschwingliche Waffen. Schau, wie viel Verbrechen und Gewalt sie zu bew\u00e4ltigen haben. Wei\u00dft du, wie gef\u00e4hrlich es f\u00fcr sie w\u00e4re, unbewaffnet zu sein?\"\n\nIm Laufe der Jahre hat Kastak Arms hart daran gearbeitet, ein Image als Corporate Underdog zu pflegen. Ein gemeinsamer Nenner in seinem Marketing ist es, sich selbst als den oft verleumdeten Waffenhersteller darzustellen, dessen einzige Aufgabe es ist, den Massen einen billigen Schutz zu bieten. Dieses Bild ist jedoch mehr als ein Werbetrick. Historiker bescheinigen Kastak Arms, dass er eine zentrale Rolle beim Sturz von Ariane Effendi, Lockes diktatorischer Herrscherin im fr\u00fchen 29. Jahrhundert, gespielt hat. Die Verf\u00fcgbarkeit von Kastak-Waffen erm\u00f6glichte es dem Oppositionsf\u00fchrer Omar Astacio, die unterdr\u00fcckte Bev\u00f6lkerung des Planeten zu r\u00fcsten.\n\nNach der Revolution schickte Astacio als Dankesch\u00f6n die offizielle Flagge der neuen Regierung von Locke an Kastak Arms. Die Flagge wurde gerahmt und wird seither in der Lobby der Konzernzentrale gezeigt. Vor kurzem kam das Unternehmen der Polizei von Asura zu Hilfe, nachdem sie in den Streik getreten war. Eine ihrer Beschwerden bestand darin, von Kriminellen unterlegen zu sein. Nachdem Kastak dies geh\u00f6rt hatte, spendete er der Truppe Waffen, um ihre F\u00e4higkeiten zu verbessern. Es war ein kluges und kluges Man\u00f6ver, das dem Unternehmen eine Welle des guten Willens eingebracht hat.\n\nOb die Gesch\u00e4ftspraktiken von Kastak Arms zu einer sichereren Gesellschaft gef\u00fchrt haben, ist fraglich. Ob seine Praktiken gut f\u00fcr das Unternehmensergebnis waren, steht au\u00dfer Frage.","zh_CN":"\u201cWe don\u2019t care about being subtle. We care about being effective.\u201d So said current Kastak Arms CEO Thaddeus DeWitt at a recent shareholders meeting. The comment came in response to criticism over the company\u2019s latest marketing campaign. The ad features a young civilian family of four standing outside of a modest house. With flames licking the foreground, two kids huddle next to their parents, who each hold a Kastak weapon. The wife blows smoke from the barrel of her gun. The husband holds his weapon high, leading the eye to the tagline \u201cProtect your Empire!\u201d next to the company\u2019s ubiquitous logo \u2014 a clenched fist coming at the viewer.\n\nKastak Arms makes inexpensive energy weapons with intimidating names like Devastator and Firestorm, and aggressively markets them to distressed parts of the Empire. Even though the company portrays itself as providing weapons for personal defense, the brand has become more readily identified with people who use them for aggressive and unlawful purposes.\n\n\u201cLet there be no mistake,\u201d Thaddeus DeWitt continued in his speech to shareholders, \u201cwe make guns, like countless other manufactures in this Empire, but we get criticized because our ads are honest about owning a weapon. Having one is about more than protection. It\u2019s also about power.\u201d Kastak\u2019s stated goal is to make effective and affordable weapons for everyday Citizens and civilians. However, critics argue that the company\u2019s business model floods the streets with cheap weapons that cause more violence than they stop.\n\nState Sponsored\nShortly after Virgil fell to the Vanduul, Vega System was not only flooded with refugees, but had suddenly become part of the conflict\u2019s front line. The looming threat of attack drove both businesses and the public from the prosperous planet of Selene. Those who chose to stay, or could not afford to leave, worried about what would happen if a Vanduul attack cut them off from the rest of the Empire. So Selene\u2019s Governors Council strove to make their planet self-sufficient. With no native personal defense weapons manufacturer, they decided to create their own.\n\nTechnically, Kastak Arms was established in 2738 as a public-private partnership between Selene\u2019s Governors Council and a consortium of local business interests. Named after the first city to fall to the Vanduul in the attack on Virgil, the company\u2019s mission statement was to make powerful weapons available to Selene\u2019s public at a modest price, so if the invasion came all Citizens and civilians would be able to defend themselves. Despite the hysteria, the Vanduul attack on Selene never arrived. Instead, the planet became awash with weapons that, combined with an unstable economy, were attributed to a rising crime rate.\n\nPublic safety groups protested that the Governors Council was profiting off the violence caused by Kastak Arms. In 2753, a rogue Kastak executive was arrested after tampering with Vega\u2019s early warning system for Vanduul attacks in an effort to spur sales. Selene\u2019s Governors Council moved to dissolve the company. The Council\u2019s lone dissenting voice was Hiram Larcher, who delayed the vote, allowing Kastak\u2019s private partners the time to put together a bid to buy the Council\u2019s stake in the company. Larcher successfully lobbied the Governors Council into taking the bid, then promptly resigned from his seat to become Kastak\u2019s CEO.\n\nUniversal Ambition\nToday\u2019s Kastak Arms is the result of Hiram Larcher\u2019s vision. Once the company became a wholly private endeavor, Larcher implemented policies that he had been pushing for on the Governors Council. Sensing saturation of Selene\u2019s market, Larcher brought the brand to Bremen amidst a massive ad campaign featuring an attractive model standing over a dead Vanduul and holding a Kastak shotgun. The ad\u2019s copy read, \u201cThere\u2019s a reason the Vanduul avoid Vega,\u201d and sparked a heated debate among pundits on the Spectrum, which generated a windfall of free advertising for Kastak. Sales climbed and allowed the company to increase operations across the Empire.\n\nAs the company expanded, it quickly realized it was better for its bottom line to advertise on the streets of Hyperion instead of the salons of Terra. So, before the company entered a new system, they would make aggressive ad buys in low-income areas, letting its pervasive and provocative ads stir up consumer interest and controversy before its weapons landed on shelves. To this day, ads for Kastak Arms are a common sight in lower income neighborhoods like Newcastle and Tram. When critics charge that Kastak spurs violence in such areas, company officials point to high sales and affordable ad space as justification for its practices. As Hiram Larcher bluntly said in an interview, \u201cThese people need affordable guns. Look how much crime and violence they have to deal with. Do you know how dangerous it would be for them to go unarmed?\u201d\n\nOver the years, Kastak Arms has worked hard to cultivate an image as a corporate underdog. A common thread in its marketing is to portray itself as the much maligned gun manufacturer whose only mission is to provide cheap protection for the masses. This image is more than an advertising ploy, though. Historians credit Kastak Arms with playing a pivotal role in the overthrow of Ariane Effendi, Locke\u2019s dictatorial ruler during the early 29th century. The availability of Kastak weapons allowed opposition leader Omar Astacio to arm the planet\u2019s oppressed populace.\n\nFollowing the revolution, Astacio sent the official flag of Locke\u2019s new government to Kastak Arms as a thank you. The flag was framed and has been displayed in the lobby of the company\u2019s corporate headquarters ever since. More recently, the company came to the aid of the Asura police after they went on strike. One of their complaints was about being outgunned by criminals. After hearing this, Kastak donated weapons to the force to upgrade their capabilities. It was a smart and shrewd maneuver that has bought the company a wave of good will.\n\nWhether Kastak Arms\u2019 business practices have led to a safer society is debatable. Whether its practices have been good for the company\u2019s bottom line is beyond doubt."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":99,"created_at":"2015-10-06T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"10 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-07 23:10:22","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":14953,"next_id":14956}}